Life and Work with Whitney Clark

Today we’d like to introduce you to Whitney Clark.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Whitney. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I am a 30-year-old black woman currently residing in San Diego, CA. Gary is my 6-year-old son! December 2017, Gary Gives started with just the two of us and my attempt to show him that “Santa” isn’t able to visit all the children across the world. Gary knew mommy worked to help people experiencing homelessness to find homes but I had been trying to come up with an idea for him to have a clearer image of how that looked. With the holiday approaching, we decided to clean out all his old toys to make room for the new ones before Christmas. Gary had a hard time just throwing them away. He felt they were still good toys that he could play with (even the broken ones. lol). Mommy suggested that we find some kids, that don’t have a home right now for Santa to visit, and give them the old toys. Gary was reluctant at first but eventually warmed up to the idea. Days later, a few of my coworkers saw the bags in my car during a lunch run and I told them what we planned on doing the following weekend. Word spread and we received nearly $300 in monetary donations. We put together over 60 “hygiene kits” and 40 snack bags.

Saturday, December 23, 2017, we drove to Downtown San Diego, where the homeless population reached over 9,000 this year and ranked 4th in the Nation according to the Regional Task Force on the Homeless; and met up with other kids and their families who came out to join Gary and give away their toys too! Gary Gives plans to create “kid-giving” events year-round! This is just the beginning!

Has it been a smooth road?
I made the decision to create this organization after the second (now annual) winter giveaway in Dec. 2018. After working with a consultant, Gary Gives NPO began the process of legitimizing itself as a full-blown organization. With the help of an amazing team of hand-picked board members our plans for 2019 began to blossom. We set a goal of 4 events a year and began working on creating a budget. 2019 started off with a bang! We successfully planned and executed our first event of the year “Gary Gives Spring Basket Giveaway” on April 20th, 2019! We partnered with the local Dreams For Change Safe Parking Program and provided a space for kids to assemble by handspring baskets filled with daily necessities toys and candy! It was a beautiful turnout and the kids had an amazing time! But, with all great things comes great struggle, a lesson I am still learning today. Life’s problems began to hit me like a ton of bricks, first came the investigation (May 2019); my day job began investigating Gary Gives after being reported to the Code of Ethics department by an anonymous coworker who claimed I was soliciting money via work email for a “pseudo” nonprofit that hasn’t been formed yet. This situation has since been resolved. While awaiting the outcome of that situation my mother fell ill and relocated to live with me (May 2019), this resulted in a violation of my lease leaving us to face homelessness (July 2019). That’s right, homeless after a living situation took a turn for the worse with someone I trusted and cared for; I remember thinking to myself how the heck did I start a nonprofit for homeless families and become apart of that same population in a matter of months?! We were forced to cancel our summer and back to school event while I focused on getting back on my feet. Dealing with my current reality, my mother’s health status, betrayal, and still grieving the loss of my father and stepfather who both died 6 months apart from each other in 2018; my mental health status and well-being began to suffer tremendously. Anxiety set in, and unfortunately, my business goals took a back seat to all of the problems I was facing. Somehow I was still able to stay on track with my weight-loss goals, a journey that I began June 2018. I made it a priority to stay positive and kept my faith even when it seemed that the universe was plotting against me.

Now, 135lbs lighter and counting, settled into my new home as of Sept. 2019, and my mother’s improved health status; best advice I can give is: find your passion and hold on to it for dear life because once you start to make it apart of your reality it will seem like everything possible will become an obstacle determined to discourage you and force you to give it up. “Nevertheless, she persisted.” I encourage whoever is reading this to push through life’s problems never losing sight of your passion and goals! You can do any and everything! Dream, Create, Inspire, Live, and Love – Sincerely, Whitt.

What do you do, what do you specialize in, what are you known for, etc. What are you most proud of? What sets you apart from others?
*Create—Promote—Communicate—Encourage—Nurture*
Gary Gives!
Our Mission:
Gary Gives strives to create opportunities for children to actively engage and participate in the act of giving to other children who are experiencing homelessness and/or family hardship. We promote active and open dialogue between parents, guardians, and children, to raise awareness that periods of misfortune may occur and offer ourselves as a resource. Through open communication, Gary Gives desires to reinforce the importance of kindness, compassion, and empathy to everyone experiencing these unfortunate real-world conditions; especially children. Emotional awareness and mental health well-being are nurtured by Gary Gives with positive affirmations, praise, discipline, and lots of love!

Like us on Facebook!

You can also follow my weight-loss journey via my Instagram @sincerely.whitt.

Often it feels as if the media, by and large, is only focused on the obstacles faced by women, but we feel it’s important to also look for the opportunities. In your view, are there opportunities that you see that women are particularly well-positioned for?
Women, specifically women of color, are beating the odds, breaking records, and setting new ones everyday! We are unstoppable and capable of any and everything! Believe in yourself that’s all it takes!

Contact Info:

• Email: garygivesnpo@gmail.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sincerely.whitt/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GaryGivesNPO/

Suggest a story: SDVoyager is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.